Office of Homeless Services Frequently Asked Questions

Do you know how many PSH units are at risk in Nashville under the new NOFO? In other words, how many people are at risk of losing their housing?

For 2024, CoC Grant funds went to ten funded agencies of the Nashville CoC. In 2024, 1,367 people across 666 households in Nashville Davidson County were housed by CoC funding. The Nashville CoC was awarded $11,846,313 from the 2024–25 CoC Grant for FY 2024. Approximately 87% of those funds have been directed towards Permanent Housing. In Davidson County, there are currently 826 people in Permanent Housing, including 302 children, 436 disabled persons, 220 survivors of domestic violence, 80 who are sixty-five or older, and 23 veterans. The 2025 NOFO requires the Nashville CoC to cap the amount of funding for Permanent Housing projects at 30% of its Annual Renewal Demand (“ARD”). For the Nashville CoC, this means that the maximum amount it can apply for in Permanent Housing projects is approximately $3,414,184. Should the Nashville CoC be limited to a 30% renewal for Permanent Housing funds, it is inevitable that a large number of clients currently in Permanent Housing will lose potentially years-long safe, stable housing. Given that these clients experience a disability of some kind—as required for program participation—they would be at a high risk of returning to unsheltered homelessness. Indeed, clients who are currently in subsidized Permanent Housing would not qualify for transitional housing programs unless they first return to homelessness.

What is OHS doing to help our community ensure that people who are in those PSH units do not lose their housing?

OHS is committed to walking with our community through this process. Some of the steps we’re taking are listed below.

• For questions about either the New or Renewal Applications, please them to [email protected] by Tuesday, November 25. All questions will be compiled, answered, and sent out in a public addendum for all potential applicants to consult. After November 26, staff from the Office of Homeless Services will no longer be able to answer any questions about the content of the applications.

• Additionally, every Tuesday leading up to the NOFO deadline we will host Weekly NOFO Conversations in-person at Donelson Library to facilitate community discussions regarding this year's Notice of Funding Opportunity and prepare the community's Consolidated Application. These meetings are open to the public and posted on Nashville.gov.

• Community members interested in receiving updates regarding the local competition should complete this form to subscribe to the Continuum of Care Listserv.

• Metro Government has signed onto a lawsuit with Rhode Island to challenge funding cuts by the Trump Administration. OHS is committed to working with legal, local, federal government and community partners to continue serving all our unhoused Nashville neighbors.

What is Metro Rapid Response Funding and how will those funds be used?

Metro Rapid Response Fund (MRRF)

“Investing in First Steps in Permanent Housing”

Purpose:
The Metro Rapid Response Fund (MRRF) is a flexible, short-term housing initiative designed to quickly transition individuals and families experiencing Category 1 and 4 homelessness into permanent housing. By combining rental assistance with intensive case management, MRRF helps to shorten the length of time that households experience homelessness to stabilize and build a pathway toward lasting independence. This housing initiative will be piloted with encampment support and 25 families initially. These programs offer relief to the overall housing crisis resolution system, Metro Departments and district Council Members.

Key Goals

• Reduce time spent in homelessness by moving people directly into stable housing.
• Promote long-term stability through income growth, housing navigation, and increased stability.
• Prevent returns to homelessness through follow-up support and re-enrollment options when needed.
• Offer relief to the housing Crisis Resolution System, Metro Departments and district Council Members.

How It Works

1. Short-Term Support, Long-Term Impact

• Provides up to three months of flexible rental assistance to help households secure and sustain housing, followed by a reassessment to determine continued need.
• Uses intensive case management to guide participants toward stability and independence.

2. Tailored for People in Transition
Serves households who:

• Are experiencing Category 1 or 4 homelessness (HUD definition)
• Live in Davidson County for the duration of the program

3. Financial Assistance May Include:

• Arrears
• Security deposit
• First month’s rent
• Ongoing rental subsidy
• Specific Assistance

Referral & Housing Placement

• Referrals accepted from services agencies via hub Nashville, street outreach teams, and shelters
• The Office of Homeless Services’ Padmission tool shares available properties including Affordable Housing Gap Finance properties
• Leases are signed directly by participants, with Metro paying property owners.

Accountability & Oversight for Service Providers

• Monthly financial planning, support and reassessments for clients to ensure continued progress and sustainability planning.
• Clear case management expectations and accountability for agencies providing services.
• All activity tracked in HMIS, ensuring transparency and compliance.
• Continued case management or services after the subsidy ends.

Performance Measures

Below are the performance measures for service providers. Agencies are expected to achieve these goals for at least 85% of the individuals they serve:

1. Utilization of Funds: All MRRF rental funds will be documented and tracked for households served, which will be verified by case notes.
2. Increased Income: Case managers must ensure that 85% of households served increase income-whether that’s earning an additional dollar, taking on extra shifts, or obtaining new employment opportunities.
3. Sustained Housing Outcomes: 85% of households served will achieve long-term housing stability by reaching the point where they can pay rent without financial assistance or connecting voucher subsidies.
4. Connection to Healthcare Services: Ensure that at least 85% of clients are linked to appropriate healthcare resources to promote overall stability and well-being.

What do these terms mean?

To find more information about specific terms we use, visit the Homeless Services Glossary page.

When are you closing camps? How are camp closures prioritized?

We do not discuss when a camp is identified prior to notifying the people in the camp. The prioritization team discusses and identifies camps for closure based on the vulnerability of the people, location, and environment.

As the funder of this work to end homelessness, our office works diligently to connect our unhoused neighbors to community partners who provide the direct support. While utilizing our encampment strategy, we also host monthly resource fairs connecting individuals to community providers.

Our outreach team enters our unhoused neighbors into the HMIS database and referrals are made. In a high-growth city like Nashville, the only immediate housing options are emergency shelters.

Committed to the work of ending homelessness, we continue to support community partners through increased collaboration, training, and funding opportunities.

What do the PIT Count numbers mean and how are they used?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires Continuum of Care (CoC) organizations across the country to conduct a Count each year during the last 10 days of January. As the CoC Collaborative Applicant in Nashville, The Office of Homeless Services conducts the Count in collaboration with Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Mental Health Cooperative, and a host of other partners.

The Count is an essential tool for understanding the scope of homelessness. While it provides valuable insights, it is important to recognize its limitations. The numbers represent a point-in-time snapshot and do not reflect the true extent of homelessness over an entire year.

The number of chronic homeless individuals in our community went from 62% in 2023 to 59% in 2024 according to our PIT count. The overall number of homeless individuals who were housed in 2022 was 1811, in 2023 ,1946 were housed and in 2024, 2094 people experiencing homelessness were housed. Nashville has had year-over-year decline in chronic homelessness based on our PIT count.

For an average of 5 years, our unhoused neighbors have been unsheltered and not accurately represented in our data collection. Phase 2 of OHS is committed to focusing on robust data collection to establish baseline data to reflect a true increase or decrease from year to year but until then, we use our PIT count numbers to tell the story. As mentioned, we have not reached the baseline and most agencies struggle to enter real time level of data. Therefore, the PIT count is the subset of data that we use.

How was the $50 million used?

June 2024 American Rescue Plan Report

What is this department doing to decrease homelessness?

The Office Homeless Services serves as the funder and lead in Metro Nashville’s Homelessness Response Efforts.

OHS addresses the needs of unsheltered homelessness and supports housing placement using the following: expanded outreach efforts, coordinated entry process, the utilization of the Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS), landlord engagement efforts, Collaborative Applicant for HUD and the Strobel Center, Nashville’s first permanent housing development for our most vulnerable population.

We continue to pursue and expand collaborative efforts with businesses, philanthropic, faith-based communities, state and local government and funding opportunities for community partners who share in our goal of ending homelessness.

Why does the homelessness number appear to be increasing in your monthly reporting?

In this WKRN News story they are referencing the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness in March 2023 vs. March 2024.

In March 2023, 34 agencies and 261 users were entering data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). By March 2024, the number of participating agencies increased to 42 (a 24% increase), and the number of users rose to 310 (a 19% increase). Our outreach team at the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) has also grown significantly. Between March 2023 and March 2024, the team doubled in size, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of people actively tracked in HMIS, from 35 individuals in March 2023 to 228 in March 2024.

If we look at the latest data from June 2024, there are now 44 agencies and 316 users participating in HMIS. Additionally, the OHS team is currently tracking 296 individuals experiencing homelessness.

We are continually working to recruit new agencies to participate in HMIS to ensure comprehensive coverage across the city. Accurate data entry from all service providers is crucial for us to have a complete and reliable count of everyone experiencing homelessness. This ongoing effort is vital for addressing and ultimately reducing chronic homelessness in Nashville.

Has Metro fined or arrested people who camp on public property?

Regarding Metro clearing out several encampments in recent years, does the mayor plan on changing anything in the homeless encampment policy?

How will the Supreme Court of the United States decision on Grants Pass have impact Metro's homeless policies?

Metro has an encampment strategy that was implemented 2 years ago. We do not typically arrest people who camp on public property. We will continue to deploy outreach services to get our unhoused neighbors the resources they need including connecting them to service providers who offer temporary and permanent housing options and connecting them with mental health and addiction recovery services.

We will continue to advocate for more funding to provide more permanent housing. Metro’s First Permanent Supportive Housing Development, Strobel House, will open July 18. This 90-bed unit will offer permanent housing and supportive services on site.

The Office of Homeless Services will continue to work with our local, state, and federal government to provide options like the Strobel House to our unhoused neighbors in Nashville, TN.

We will also continue to engage the philanthropic, business, faith-based community, and other community agencies to join our efforts. We are excited about our current progress but acknowledge that there is still more work to do.

Who will the Strobel House serve and what will it offer?

More Information about the Strobel House

How can I donate to Strobel House Residents?

Strobel House Donations Flyer (with Depaul USA)

How are referrals made to Strobel House?

All referrals for Strobel House Permanent Supportive Housing are made through Coordinated Entry at the Office of Homeless Services using HMIS data (Homeless Management Information System). We follow the community process for all referrals made through Coordinated Entry, prioritizing individuals based on assessment score and length of homelessness.

If your organization is not an HMIS certified user and would like to be, please reach out to [email protected].

If you already use HMIS and place your clients’ information in HMIS, you do not need to do anything more. There is not an interested list for the Strobel House.